Racism?
Today, in a Resident Evil-induced craze, I stumbled upon something so offensive to my senses, I almost kicked a little orange kitten.
An article, in The Village Voice voiced concernts that the yet-to-be-finished Resident Evil 5 is racist. (click here for the actual article)
"we have to consider the possibility that our interest in the supernatural is actually mirroring our anxieties about real-life problems. So, in America - a country still tangling with the legacy of slavery, racism, and oppression-what does Resident Evil 5 give us to be anxious about?"
I don't know about you, but I thought that whole slavery/oppression thing kinda ended A REALLY LONG TIME AGO. How the hell are we still "tangling with the legacy"? The only people still "tangled" up in that legacy are the black supremecists, who don't seem to understand that no one wants them for slaves anymore. None of the black people alive today who cry "racist!" have ever BEEN slaves. SO JUST GET OVER IT ALREADY.
One commenter said:
"I can't wait until your next article calling for the removal of all pool tables in the country because we can't have a game where a White ball pushes all the colored balls off the Green Earth table... can we?"
Lawlz.
Then, on some sort of black supremecist website, a blogger posted this little tidbit, as a sort of 'response' (but mainly 'support') to the article in The Village Voice:
"The new Resident Evil video game depicts a white man in what appears to be Africa killing Black people. The Black people are supposed to be zombies and the white man’s job is to destroy them and save humanity. “I have a job to do and I’m gonna see it through.”
This is problematic on so many levels, including the depiction of Black people as inhuman savages, the killing of Black people by a white man in military clothing, and the fact that this video game is marketed to children and young adults. Start them young… fearing, hating, and destroying Black people"
(actual link HERE)
First, to those who are uneducated in the Resident Evil 5 universe, I will explain all the factual discrepencies with that statement, before expanding on the message behind the statements.
1. The first sentence is wrong. It is not a white man killing black people, it is a white man killing black zombies or zombie-like creatures. Regardless of what exactly the black humanoids are, they are certainly not even human, which makes this whole thing irrelevant, because I don't see black humans sticking up for the rights of black labradors, so why should they defend against "racism" towards black zombies?
2. Second sentence, "the black people are supposed to be zombies". No, they ARE zombies. Honestly. And it's probably going to be the "white man's job" to SURVIVE, not necessarily destroy all the black zombies.
3. Second paragraph, "the depiction of Black people as inhuman savages". I'm sorry, I thought it was the depiction of zombies as inhuman savages? And the "white man in military clothing" in question is actually Chris Redfield, a long-standing character in the Resident Evil franchise. Excuse him for being white, I don't think the game developers thought to do a reverse-Michael Jackson to make Chris black.
And as for being in military clothing, I don't know if he does actually join the military, but in RE1, he was just a civilian-type law enforcer. Not actually "military", but still.
"the fact that this video game is marketed to children and young adults" Yes, because an M-rated video game is marketed to so many people, all of whom are 17+
4. And last, I love this:
"Start them young… fearing, hating, and destroying Black people"
someone actually commented on the blog, in response to this quote:
"For a minute there I thought you were talking about Rap music."
Lawlz.
The REALLY surprising part is that there are actually fools out there who are agreeing with the person:
"thank you for your thought provoking blog, I agree with you that this game is problematic on many levels. If the majority of responses can’t see your point then they need to engage with you rather than just shoot you down(!) That the majority of them are male is extremely interesting. But the level of debate is depressing and I hope its not getting you down. Remember, if they are shooting at you, you must be doing something right."
I don't know if I've ever heard a statement more ignorant than that last line. Last time I checked, police shoot at people for doing something wrong. But in a more metaphorical way, reading throught the comments, most of the people aren't exactly "shooting" her down, they're explaining to her how much of her statement is factually wrong...
Now, moving on in my rant to the blogger's own website, where she posted a sort of 'response' to her original post. (Once again, click here for the real deal)
"Never before have I received more hateful comments by angry gamers who called me everything from a "nigger" to a "black hooker" for agreeing with Ruberg that these images of Black people (Black zombies) are problematic.
The response from gamers around the world was shocking. While I think we could have an intellectual debate about racist imagery in video games, there is no debating the blatant racism from many of Resident Evil 5's supporters."
Look at the nice little kettle calling the little pots 'black'. Oh wait, I shouldn't say that. That's a racist comment, because I used the word 'black'.
"I confess I don't know much about video games, gamers, etc. I don't play video games, but I occasionally play solitaire on my gf's PC. However, given the response from gamers... I think we should all be very afraid. Many of these folks seem like the type who would try to reenact scenes from Resident Evil 5. Can you say Columbine?"
It's equally as descriminating to calculate someone's violent aggresive tendencies based on their hobbies. Let's go on a rampage and execute everyone who plays video games.
Personally, I think mega-corporations who regularly exploit people and toss ethics out the windows purely for monetary gain are more evil than people who play games because they still know what having fun is, even if it involves fake violence, and pixelated blood.
But the whole "Gamers are Killers" debate is neither here nor there. What this whole rant is about is my intolerance towards racists.
It shouldn't matter what color you are. Same as it shouldn't matter what color your hair is, or your eyes, or what religion you believe in, or what kind of games you play. It should matter what kind of person you are.
People who are "proud" of what color they are are the base of the problem. You shouldn't be shouting to the world "I am a BLACK woman!" because it doesn't matter. And all this crap about "Black Pride" is another way of saying "Blacks are better than whites!"
Think about it, if you are proud of being black, then what does that mean? You think that you are special for being black, and you're glad you're black. It's when people start thinking they're hot shit 'cause they're black that we get all these problems and the cries of "racism!".
(Edit) I just looked up the woman's bio, and she is actually only 50% black, yet nowhere does she brag about being "a white woman!" as she seems so inclined to shout "I'm a BLACK woman". Clearly, she is under the impression that being black is better than being white. Clearly racist. (/edit)
The number one cause of racism is black people trying to tell everyone that they're the better. Like I said before, the slavery thing ended a long time ago. And it wasn't a despicable, horrible thing like people say it was. It just happened. People have been slaves for along time. White people kept white people as slaved before they found Africans. People die, people tell other people what to do, people hurt other people. It's what people do, and your title of 'slave' (or lack thereof) doesn't make anything any different.
People are still slaves, only most of them are too stupid to see it. They're slaves to society, to the government, to some low-paying crap lifestyle. But most of all, people are slaves to themselves.
Just.. get over it.
An article, in The Village Voice voiced concernts that the yet-to-be-finished Resident Evil 5 is racist. (click here for the actual article)
"we have to consider the possibility that our interest in the supernatural is actually mirroring our anxieties about real-life problems. So, in America - a country still tangling with the legacy of slavery, racism, and oppression-what does Resident Evil 5 give us to be anxious about?"
I don't know about you, but I thought that whole slavery/oppression thing kinda ended A REALLY LONG TIME AGO. How the hell are we still "tangling with the legacy"? The only people still "tangled" up in that legacy are the black supremecists, who don't seem to understand that no one wants them for slaves anymore. None of the black people alive today who cry "racist!" have ever BEEN slaves. SO JUST GET OVER IT ALREADY.
One commenter said:
"I can't wait until your next article calling for the removal of all pool tables in the country because we can't have a game where a White ball pushes all the colored balls off the Green Earth table... can we?"
Lawlz.
Then, on some sort of black supremecist website, a blogger posted this little tidbit, as a sort of 'response' (but mainly 'support') to the article in The Village Voice:
"The new Resident Evil video game depicts a white man in what appears to be Africa killing Black people. The Black people are supposed to be zombies and the white man’s job is to destroy them and save humanity. “I have a job to do and I’m gonna see it through.”
This is problematic on so many levels, including the depiction of Black people as inhuman savages, the killing of Black people by a white man in military clothing, and the fact that this video game is marketed to children and young adults. Start them young… fearing, hating, and destroying Black people"
(actual link HERE)
First, to those who are uneducated in the Resident Evil 5 universe, I will explain all the factual discrepencies with that statement, before expanding on the message behind the statements.
1. The first sentence is wrong. It is not a white man killing black people, it is a white man killing black zombies or zombie-like creatures. Regardless of what exactly the black humanoids are, they are certainly not even human, which makes this whole thing irrelevant, because I don't see black humans sticking up for the rights of black labradors, so why should they defend against "racism" towards black zombies?
2. Second sentence, "the black people are supposed to be zombies". No, they ARE zombies. Honestly. And it's probably going to be the "white man's job" to SURVIVE, not necessarily destroy all the black zombies.
3. Second paragraph, "the depiction of Black people as inhuman savages". I'm sorry, I thought it was the depiction of zombies as inhuman savages? And the "white man in military clothing" in question is actually Chris Redfield, a long-standing character in the Resident Evil franchise. Excuse him for being white, I don't think the game developers thought to do a reverse-Michael Jackson to make Chris black.
And as for being in military clothing, I don't know if he does actually join the military, but in RE1, he was just a civilian-type law enforcer. Not actually "military", but still.
"the fact that this video game is marketed to children and young adults" Yes, because an M-rated video game is marketed to so many people, all of whom are 17+
4. And last, I love this:
"Start them young… fearing, hating, and destroying Black people"
someone actually commented on the blog, in response to this quote:
"For a minute there I thought you were talking about Rap music."
Lawlz.
The REALLY surprising part is that there are actually fools out there who are agreeing with the person:
"thank you for your thought provoking blog, I agree with you that this game is problematic on many levels. If the majority of responses can’t see your point then they need to engage with you rather than just shoot you down(!) That the majority of them are male is extremely interesting. But the level of debate is depressing and I hope its not getting you down. Remember, if they are shooting at you, you must be doing something right."
I don't know if I've ever heard a statement more ignorant than that last line. Last time I checked, police shoot at people for doing something wrong. But in a more metaphorical way, reading throught the comments, most of the people aren't exactly "shooting" her down, they're explaining to her how much of her statement is factually wrong...
Now, moving on in my rant to the blogger's own website, where she posted a sort of 'response' to her original post. (Once again, click here for the real deal)
"Never before have I received more hateful comments by angry gamers who called me everything from a "nigger" to a "black hooker" for agreeing with Ruberg that these images of Black people (Black zombies) are problematic.
The response from gamers around the world was shocking. While I think we could have an intellectual debate about racist imagery in video games, there is no debating the blatant racism from many of Resident Evil 5's supporters."
Look at the nice little kettle calling the little pots 'black'. Oh wait, I shouldn't say that. That's a racist comment, because I used the word 'black'.
"I confess I don't know much about video games, gamers, etc. I don't play video games, but I occasionally play solitaire on my gf's PC. However, given the response from gamers... I think we should all be very afraid. Many of these folks seem like the type who would try to reenact scenes from Resident Evil 5. Can you say Columbine?"
It's equally as descriminating to calculate someone's violent aggresive tendencies based on their hobbies. Let's go on a rampage and execute everyone who plays video games.
Personally, I think mega-corporations who regularly exploit people and toss ethics out the windows purely for monetary gain are more evil than people who play games because they still know what having fun is, even if it involves fake violence, and pixelated blood.
But the whole "Gamers are Killers" debate is neither here nor there. What this whole rant is about is my intolerance towards racists.
It shouldn't matter what color you are. Same as it shouldn't matter what color your hair is, or your eyes, or what religion you believe in, or what kind of games you play. It should matter what kind of person you are.
People who are "proud" of what color they are are the base of the problem. You shouldn't be shouting to the world "I am a BLACK woman!" because it doesn't matter. And all this crap about "Black Pride" is another way of saying "Blacks are better than whites!"
Think about it, if you are proud of being black, then what does that mean? You think that you are special for being black, and you're glad you're black. It's when people start thinking they're hot shit 'cause they're black that we get all these problems and the cries of "racism!".
(Edit) I just looked up the woman's bio, and she is actually only 50% black, yet nowhere does she brag about being "a white woman!" as she seems so inclined to shout "I'm a BLACK woman". Clearly, she is under the impression that being black is better than being white. Clearly racist. (/edit)
The number one cause of racism is black people trying to tell everyone that they're the better. Like I said before, the slavery thing ended a long time ago. And it wasn't a despicable, horrible thing like people say it was. It just happened. People have been slaves for along time. White people kept white people as slaved before they found Africans. People die, people tell other people what to do, people hurt other people. It's what people do, and your title of 'slave' (or lack thereof) doesn't make anything any different.
People are still slaves, only most of them are too stupid to see it. They're slaves to society, to the government, to some low-paying crap lifestyle. But most of all, people are slaves to themselves.
Just.. get over it.